PRESENTATION
God is a missionary because God is communio and communication. Mission emerges from the eternal communication within the Divine Persons of the Triune God. What emanates from this lasting communication is mission, the reaching out toward God’s creation. Therefore, there is mission with communication. And all forms of communication have a mission, an intention, and an objective to fulfil.
Based on the history of our Congregation, we have defined communication as one of the characteristic dimensions of every member and every institution of the SVD. Since Saint Arnold Janssen, our Founder, communication has been part and parcel of our life and mission. Saint Arnold was a person of communication. He was very advanced in using the communication technologies of his time, especially the printing press. Likewise, through his thousands of letters, he communicated with missionaries whom he had sent to different countries. His ways of communicating through print media of his time and conventional letter writing were motivated by mission and intended to promote the mission.
He animated people to participate in God’s mission; he encouraged them to open their hearts and minds to enrich and to be enriched by others; he encouraged them to persevere amid challenges and problems. Arnold wrote and sent letters and expected others to write and transmit to others. He communicated and animated others to share their experiences, ideas, and dreams. To Bishop Anzer in China, he wrote in June 1882 that he appreciated the excellent and hard work of the bishop, but at the same time encouraged Anzer to inform about the situation of the people of the mission. Communication lives from the flow of information experienced through sharing.
This is the challenge we have been facing all the time. We have an abundance of good missionary and creative initiatives from our confreres and lay mission partners that respond to the world’s wounds. But often, these need to be communicated and shared. Communicating good practices of intercultural life and mission is not the intention to promote a person but to inspire and enrich others to be more involved in the mission of God.
A clear commitment to sharing the Good News, the inspiring events, and the courageous witness of groups of people are very much needed, especially now that the world is overflowing with toxic, harmful, and fake news. Our communication shall put the mission at its heart, and mission means nothing else than proclaiming the Word of God and participating in promoting justice, peace, and integrity of creation.
“Making a Difference Through Communication” is the concluding booklet in the series Faithful to the Word, exploring the four characteristic dimensions. The primary goal of this publication is to showcase how communication, one of the fundamental aspects of Society, has been effectively promoted across various contexts. It also seeks to inspire us to become individuals of effective communication, capable of receiving, internalizing, and responsibly sharing the good news.
As I present this booklet, I must express my sincere gratitude and appreciation to Fr. Lazar T. Stanislaus, SVD, the dedicated editor whose hard work made this project possible. I also extend my thanks to all confreres who generously shared their experiences in the field of communication. Special recognition goes to Fr. Babu Joseph Karokombil, SVD, for his insightful theological reflections and to Fr. Modeste Munimi, SVD, our General Communication Coordinator, who offered concrete proposals to further our journey as individuals/centers of communication, reflecting the legacy of Saint Arnold Janssen.
We can make a positive impact through our conscious efforts to place the mission at the core of communication. By responsibly harnessing communication technology for our mission, we become faithful and creative disciples, responding to the needs of our wounded world.
Fraternally in the Divine Word,
Fr. Paulus Budi Kleden, SVD and Leadership Team
